The honeymooners: Day three.

May 25, 2010

On the third day, we braved the open world and set out to go on a catamaran for a snorkeling adventure, trip to Isla de Mujeres and all the in-betweens.

We arrived at the port right on time and waited for our turn to get on our boat. While waiting, we were told that we had to be wearing biodegradable sunscreen if we wanted to snorkel. Apparently, the coral reefs were dying and it was all at the fault of crazy people and their sunscreen. Of course we had just sprayed on our regular Banana Boat sunscreen minutes before this big revelation and I was not about to redo my lathering.

In fact, we were told, there would be National Guard at the stopping points who would check and make sure we were wearing and if we weren't, we would be taken back to port and not allowed to continue the excursion. How would they know? They would see the shimmer on our skin that biodegradable sunscreen didn't leave behind.

To fix this environmental disaster, they were selling special biodegradable sunscreen at a low cost of $25 for the size of a nail polish container of this stuff. About half the crowd rushed to the table and bought the sunscreen while the rest of us, me and Chris included, decided we were going to disobey the regulations and hoped that we could just jump in the water fast enough that the shimmer on our skin wouldn't catch the attention of the Guard.

We boarded the boat, were handed a margarita, and found a nice spot in the sun to enjoy the trip over to our first stop.

The rest of the group was also handed the free margaritas and consumed way too many of those free margaritas. We sat back and watched as young girls and boys got way too close for comfort on their high school spring break. And the moms? They sat back and watched. And me? I vowed to not let my children out of the country until they were 35. At least.

We pulled up to Isla de Mujeres after a breezy boat ride where lunch was served right off the shore. I am not the bravest of eaters, so once I saw the spread, I quickly pulled a Pop-Tart from my bag that had traveled with me from Phoenix. Chris braved the selection and had a delicious meal of we-still-don't-know-what.

We digested under the mango trees.

After relaxing, as if we hadn't relaxed the entire boat trip to the island, I handed my husband our beach bag while we roamed around. I had important things to do, like take pictures, and I couldn't be bothered by the heavy bag. Like all men tend to do, he equated it with a purse and begrudgingly carried it the entire time. What is it with men and bags?

Our first stop was the bathroom. We were told there was one public bathroom on the island and we quickly found our way over to it. The public bathroom turned out to be a hall closet in the back of a souvenir shop. At least the toilet paper was accessible.

After the pit stop, we roamed some more and I soaked in all of the bright colors.

I got my cat fix...

...while my husband got his second nap of the excursion.

Dogs were everywhere and so were people willing to play with them.

About halfway through the visit, my one and only pair of flip-flops snapped. We stopped at an outdoor shop along the street and I had no choice but to buy an over-priced, ugly pair of sandals to get me through the rest of the trip. Twenty dollars later, a local was laughing at how he just ripped me off and I was sporting the chunkiest camouflage flip-flops this side of the equator had ever seen.

We browsed a couple more shops of bright accessories, flowy dresses and sea creatures that had made their way ashore into these souvenir shops.

After I made sure to photograph this delicious feeding of dead fish to pelicans...

...(and believe me, I spared you the really good ones), we made our way back to our boat to go on the snorkeling excursion.

But not before I took more pictures of the bright colors.

We pulled up to our spot in the ocean and secured our life jackets.

Guess what? There was no National Guard. No nothing. Nothing except one rich guy who just managed to convince fifty tourists to buy his over-priced fake sunscreen.

And we lived up the fact that we were $25 richer than every tourist on that boat.

We snorkeled for a bit and I reveled at the life under the sea. Oceans have always amazed me and the fish, reefs, plant life - well, it is an entirely other world.

They ended the excursion with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Parasailing.

And by parasailing, I mean that they had a towel rolled up and tied to a rope. You sit on the towel and they drag you with the boat while the tattered plastic bag goes swaying in the wind.

Because I love my life and like to live it alive, I just sat back and watched. The view wasn't too bad, anyway.

The third day ended with a worn-out, sun-burnt couple and dinner on the town. We had an early morning the next day that was much more inland.